Articles of jewelry of the plaque variety conventionally have a mounting pinstem pivoted at one end on a support, the opposite end of the pinstem being adapted for removable accommodation in a keeper spaced from the pivot support. The free end of the pinstem conventionally is tapered or sharpened to pass through a garment so as to enable the plaque separably to be supported on the garment. It often happens, however, that the owner of the plaque would prefer to suspend it from a neck encircling chain like a pendant, rather than attach the plaque to a garment.
It is possible to suspend a plaque from a neck chain simply by looping the chain between the pinstem and the body of the plaque, or by threading the pinstem through a link of the chain. Suspension of a plaque in these ways, however, has certain disadvantages. For example, the plaque will not be capable of assuming a vertical position, but will tilt about a horizontal axis. Further, the plaque more than likely will shift relatively to the chain so as to be suspended from the pivoted end or the latched end of the pinstem. If the plaque is one having a pinstem adapted to extend horizontally when the plaque is attached to a garment, the suspension of such a plaque from a chain thus will cause the decorative design of the plaque to be displaced through approximately 90.degree..
A further disadvantage of suspending a plaque from a chain simply by looping the chain between the pinstem and the plaque or by threading the pinstem through a link of the chain is that, should the latch inadvertently be opened, separation of the plaque from the chain virtually is a certainty, thereby substantially increasing the likelihood of loss of the plaque.
Various devices heretofore have been proposed for enabling a pinstem plaque to be suspended from a chain. Typical of such proposals are those disclosed in Jellinek U.S. Pat. No. 2,274,269 and Bohlinger U.S. Pat. No. 2,548,140. Although devices of these kinds offer advantages over the simple looping and link threading procedures referred to above, they are not universally adaptable to plaques of different sizes and shapes nor are they capable of providing significant protection against loss of the plaque in the event the pinstem inadvertently should be released from its latch.
An object of the present invention is to provide a support adapted for removable attachment to the pinstem of a plaque so as to enable the plaque to be suspended like a pendant from a chain, the support being adaptable to plaques of different shapes and sizes and enabling the plaque to assume a substantially vertical position when suspended. Another object is to provide a plaque support which affords appreciable protection against loss of the plaque in the event the pinstem becomes unlatched.